Winter Conference
by femmequeen
Summary: Shameless Freechamp. When Connie and Rita attend a conference together their secret mutual feelings become obvious, and being snowed in makes them difficult to ignore.
1. Chapter 1

Not that happy with this because I am ill, but it is what it is.

This prompt was given to me months ago, and I forgot who by - sorry! Feedback / suggestions / prompts are welcome / encouraged. A part two will be written in the foreseeable future. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Nurse Freeman - my office, now."

When it came to summoning her colleagues, Connie had perfected that excessively scathing tone. It still made Rita's heart flutter, somehow.

She sighed, and placed the files she was holding amongst the chaos of the nurse's station. Connie had no doubt noticed the disarray of the department, and decided to chide Rita in order to spark a wave of more efficient practice – a sensible suggestion in theory, but they did not have the required number of staff to sustain Connie's optimal pace.

Rita decided to combat her routine impoliteness with impeccable manners, and walked over calmly. She could not afford to snap at the clinical lead, even under a significant amount of stress, and being passive seemed to be the closest she could get to defiance without losing her job.

She closed the office door quietly behind her, and braced herself for the incoming lecture. Connie's gaze was lowered, focused on files of her own, and she was scribbling numbers, names and notes across them – seemingly uninterested in the conversation they were about to have.

"I've been invited to a conference in Glasgow. I want you to accompany me there."

Rita was taken aback.

"Why me?"

Connie ceased writing, and pointedly made eye contact.

"It's about nursing reforms, and you are a nurse - correct?"

Rita fought the urge to roll her eyes. Of course Connie would make her perfectly reasonable question seem ridiculous.

"Okay. When is it?" she said, reserved. As difficult as interacting with the ice queen was, she was not ready to eliminate the prospect of spending an extended period of time with her.

"I'll email you the details tonight. Thank you, nurse."

And with that, Rita was dismissed. She exited the office, collected her files, and tried to decide whether she was giddy or nauseous at the prospect of accompanying Connie on a conference call. Unfortunately, the chances of her accidentally revealing the affection she was harbouring for her professional superior seemed cruelly high.

She decided to let the prospect of her company to improve her mood throughout the shift, but ultimately cancel before it became a necessary, and dangerous, appointment.

 _Two weeks later…_

Rita could never bring herself to cancel. Their taxi pulled up alongside the hotel.

Their journey had started early in the morning, and been taken in conversational silence. On the train, Connie had spent the first hour texting frantically. Then, she had taken out her laptop and started keenly tapping at the keys. Eventually, the lack of internet connection shifting her emails took its toll, and Rita watched her resign herself to simply sitting back, and staring out of the window.

Rita had listened to music for the duration, ignoring the intermittent disapproving looks from Connie when she starting humming alongside the song she was listening to - a force of habit. She had fallen asleep sometime after Connie put her laptop away, lulled by the steady movement of the train and Connie's uncharacteristic stillness – so strangely serene without her work schedule, and so beautiful despite having to be ready at an obscenely early hour.

She had woken up, a couple of hours later, to Connie staring at her. The consultant quickly snapped her gaze away upon making eye contact, but not before Rita had noted the occurrence. Rita, not quite roused from unconsciousness, had then allowed her imagination to convince her that there was a certain softness to Connie's expression, one of caring, and smiled gently to herself before a voice on the intercom announced their imminent arrival.

Now, they were harshly dragging their suitcases towards the automatic doors of an upscale hotel. Or rather, Rita was. Connie had marched ahead when the taxi driver decided to take responsibility for her luggage, and Rita had to stifle a laugh when she realised Connie's presence struck fear into the hearts of everyone – not just her staff.

The pavement was frosty; verging on dangerous to walk on. Rita thought that she may have underestimated the stereotype of Scottish weather as she shivered in her leather jacket, making a beeline towards the warm hotel interior. The relief of central-heating was quickly pierced by the icy tone of Connie coming from the front desk.

"Fine" she spat with venom, and the receptionist looked startled. "Just give me the key."

Judging from the single key produced from the exchange, their booking had become a victim of miscommunication. Rita supposed that Connie could have argued and gotten her way, but they were both weary from hours of travelling. Therefore, she followed Connie upstairs without question.

Upon entering the room, Rita was thankful to see two single beds – thought the prospect of sharing a room with Connie still seemed quite daunting. Rita considered how to avoid Connie's personal space for the rest of the day and, within half an hour, announced that she was going to go for a walk.

* * *

The evening drew on, and snow began to fall. The distinctive drop in temperature forced a shiver through Rita's spine. She was currently strolling through a park. Being outside was an act of self-preservation – necessary if she was going to avoid embarrassing herself by staring too much, blushing too fiercely or standing too close.

Unfortunately, those were the three reactions she had when Connie had thrust her long blue coat in her hands, insisting that it was more practical than the thin jacket Rita was wearing. She was right, and the coat was undeniably warm, but the scent of Connie's perfume made it difficult for Rita to clear her head.

The park was in the midst of being grasped by winter. The cold caught her breath, and turned it into smoke. Rita settled on a bench which was coated in frost, and considered her attraction to the most unavailable woman she knew – not to mention the coldest. Sitting outside in Glasgow in the middle of winter seemed positively cosy compared to the atmosphere of the emergency department when Connie was in a disagreeable mood. Rita huffed a bitter laugh at the thought.

There was no superficial reason why she should be attracted to the ice queen, but there was warmth behind those eyes. The desire for a perfect department, the despair when Grace left for New York, the countless hours of overtime – there had to be a substantial sense of caring driving her towards every goal. There was something more to Connie than she presented, and Rita wanted to kiss her until the heat of the moment melted the façade.

The sun was setting, and the temperature was dropping even further. The snow did not seem to have any intention of stopping. Rita tucked her chin into the collar of Connie's coat, breathing in deeply, and wiggled her chilled fingers inside her gloves. It was becoming evident that she could not stay here forever, and she supposed sitting across the room in silence was a relatively safe option. Rita stood up, and started walking slowly back to the hotel.

* * *

When she quietly entered the room she saw Connie had spread a substantial amount of paperwork across the small desk by the window. Of course she would never leave any work behind, Rita thought to herself – exasperated, but vaguely impressed by her unwavering dedication. She would have surely done the same if her work did not require the presence of a patient.

"It's snowing outside" Rita blurted out.

She was not sure why she had felt the need to break the silence with such an obvious statement. Perhaps it was easier than a usual greeting – there was less expectation to attach emotion to the statement. They were here for work, after all. A conference call. Connie looked up very deliberately.

"I did notice."

Rita had not expected an answer any more profound, but she was disappointed anyway. She became aware that the snow had melted on Connie's coat, making it damp, and the water had seeped into the one layer she was wearing underneath it. For some reason, it had not occurred to her to dress any more suitably – she obviously had not accurately predicted the ludicrous amount of time she would spend outside avoiding Connie.

She shrugged off the blue coat and hung it up quickly, not wanting to be responsible for ruining a fundamental piece of Connie's wardrobe. The result was her standing in a white long-sleeved t-shirt which had become translucent with damp, and she was unquestionably surprised when this evoked more of a response from Connie than her attempt at conversation. Her eyes had widened, and she had swiftly looked back at her work.

Rita paused momentarily, and then busied herself with the contents of her suitcase. What was that supposed to mean? The amount of times that they had cut off patients' clothes in order to access injuries was impossible to count, and now Connie seemed to be bothered by Rita being fully clothed, albeit not completely modest.

Upon seeing the mirrored wardrobe conveniently placed ahead of her, Rita decisively pulled a jumper from her suitcase and decided that there was nothing to lose, nor any course of action she could not explain. She removed her damp t-shirt slowly, and eyed Connie's reflection in order to gauge her reaction, and find an answer to her suspicions.

In return, Connie shuffled some papers noisily to feign work – but her gaze drifted towards Rita. Hey eyes wandered up and down her body, and the gesture sent a shiver through Rita which had nothing to do with the cold. Connie's lips parted, and Rita desperately wanted to turn around and kiss her.

"If you insist on contracting hypothermia, could it be after the conference?" Connie said, softly.

The gentleness of her voice made Rita feel guilty about humouring herself. Connie was evidently tired, and there was nothing between them apart from her imagination. Rita quickly pulled her jumper on, and sat awkwardly on her bed in silence.

They both took their separate rest early in preparation for the conference the following day.

* * *

The next day they stood, dressed and ready, outside the main entrance, but the weather was remorseless. The only forgiving aspect was that the abundance of snow highlighted the patches of black ice, which would perhaps prevent a few accidents. Overall, the world had turned to monochrome. Not even brightly coloured hats and scarves could be spotted through the swirling snow, because other people were being sensible.

In fact, it seemed ridiculous that they had made it this far, ready to leave, but neither of them had spoken since waking up. Connie was standing proudly in Louboutin's even now, but she was eyeing Rita with a reluctant expression – as if waiting for the nurse to express weakness in the face of adversity before her.

"You can't wear those all the time, you know" Rita said in acknowledgement.

Connie looked confused until Rita nodded at her shoes, and then she smiled – raising her hand to tousle her hair, and cover her face as to make the positive reaction less obvious.

"Try me" she replied.

Rita smiled at her assuredness. Warmth spread through her, and suddenly being with Connie seemed a lot more desirable than the unrelenting cold.

"I guess we could cancel on the grounds of unforeseen circumstances" she offered.

Connie paused, considering any other course of action, and then nodded, seemingly satisfied that their attendance could be excused in such a storm.

Rita turned to walk back inside, but her foot twisted too far on the ice and she slipped. It seemed that even the rational decision to wear flat shoes did not matter in this weather. Connie reached out instinctively to catch her, and Rita grabbed hold of her forearms to stop herself from toppling over.

"Sorry. Thanks" she said, after finding her feet and loosening her grip on Connie.

"Any time" said Connie, face noticeably flushed. They were still holding each other's arms, though the moment had long passed. Prompted by politeness rather than her personal desire, Rita let go reluctantly. Connie raised her hands to fiddle with the buttons on her coat, suddenly refusing to make contact, and started walking back cautiously.

* * *

In the time it took them to reach the lift, it had become apparent that the tension between them had heightened dramatically, and it became impossible to ignore. Upon entering their room, Connie stood with a diary in her hand – seemingly unsure of what else to do with herself. Rita stood near the door, similarly with no sense of direction.

They stayed like that for a while. Rita pondered Connie's behaviour over the past day, and Connie flipped through the pages of her diary – searching for a date that would never be found.

Rita was not sure what made her move – if it was the suggestion that Connie was attracted to her, or the warmth she felt for the clinical lead herself. Whatever the case: Rita purposefully walked towards Connie, lifted her hand and made a motion as to brush a snowflake from Connie's hair.

In reality, there was no snowflake. They had all melted immediately after retreating into the warmth of the hotel, but Rita had to convince herself that there was a reason for her actions to give her courage, and to give her an excuse if she was rejected. In reality, Rita had simply caressed Connie's hair. Connie stiffened at the contact, and looked at her with wide eyes.

Rita felt as though she should break the eye contact, move away and retreat back into the professional titles they held. Yet, she did not want to, so she bravely held Connie's gaze, challenging. Nothing was going to stop her from reaching the truth.

Generally, to challenge Mrs Beauchamp was to cause friction – bad tempers, snapping and threats. Rita had been on that side of her before, when Connie had threatened to remove her from the very department. To challenge Mrs Beauchamp like this, however, was different. They were so unbearable close and merely dancing over what had not been said, causing sparks to fly.

Rita, taken by a surge of adrenaline, leant up and kissed Connie – a brush of lips that barely counted as contact. They hovered with their faces close for a moment, and then Connie leaned forward to initiate contact again. Rita's pulse was racing. What was so forbidden had suddenly and unexpectedly become reality. They wordlessly deepened the kiss, and Rita began to run her fingers through Connie's curls.

Connie reached her neatly manicured hands under Rita's blazer, and pulled her closer from the small of her back. Rita arched into the touch, relishing in their closeness. She knew that it would be right, ethical even, to pull away, and to preserve the professionalism of their relationship – but she did not want to, however selfish that may seem.

Connie suddenly pulled away, but her hand was still clasped around Rita's waist. She seemed to be expecting the nurse to pull away, but she was openly leaning into her.

"Nurse Freeman. I had no idea …"

Rita could not even make herself annoyed at such a formal form of address. She leant up towards the taller woman until her breath was warm against her mouth.

"Connie, I think you can call me Rita."

And then they kissed again.


	2. Chapter 2

_Firstly, I apologise for the grammatical mistakes in the previous chapter. I was spectacularly ill, and apparently not capable of forming a coherent sentence._

 _Secondly, thank you so much for the lovely reviews, comments and inboxes. This truly is the most beautiful fandom I am a part of, and I adore each and every one of you._

 _Finally, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Comments / reviews are welcome / encouraged. Another chapter will be written, because I love writing this in winter._

 **Winter Conference (2) -**

The warmth was creeping back into Rita's fingers, and the sudden change in temperature was causing them to burn – but the sensation was hardly worth noting when they were grasping at Connie's hair whilst they shared a slow and searing kiss.

It must have been mere minutes since their clumsy confession of mutual attraction, but Rita could not say for sure. Time had ceased to have meaning when everything she had ever wanted was in her arms.

Connie abruptly pushed her backwards and pinned her to the wall, before starting to delicately explore her lips with her own. Rita could barely focus on a line of thought the touch was so intoxicating. They were as close as physicality would allow, but she was pulling Connie closer still – she wanted _more_ and then, as if she had heard the thought, Connie started gently unbuttoning Rita's shirt.

She closed her eyes in bliss, and was suddenly lost in a sensual world. She could smell Connie's expensive perfume, and was glad she did not know the name of the brand because her brain recognised it as simply _Connie_. She registered the taste of Connie's lipstick, slightly sweet, on her own lips, which prompted an involuntary gasp of pleasure.

It was clear which direction this was heading, but that was not the _more_ she wanted. Rita had no interest in a single night of passion, nor a short, electric affair that had to be kept a secret from their colleagues.

Connie deliberately broke the kiss, and dipped her head in order to kiss Rita's neck. Rita nuzzled her face into her hair, breathless, in response. Well, it seemed she _did_ have an interest in that – but she was also sure that she wanted to make a commitment. This heaven had to last for more than one night, one week, one month – or she would rather it did not happen at all.

And then something else happened entirely. Connie stopped.

In concern, Rita's hand touched her chin and gently lifted her face to look upwards. Upon making eye contact, Connie looked fearful. Rita barely had time to register the expression before Connie pushed her firmly from her grasp, and surged towards the door. She marched directly out of the room, and closed the door behind her with considerable force, without a backwards glance.

"Connie!" Rita yelled, but no response was given. She cursed to herself, and felt her heart drop, before impulsively coming to a decision.

She instinctively buttoned up her shirt, and darted towards the mirror to wipe the stain of Connie's lipstick from her mouth. She did so slowly, the action tainted with regret, but she was acutely aware that she had to look presentable if she was going to chase the woman she had accidentally fallen in love with in order to tell her exactly that. Her decision was to tell the unadulterated truth.

It was silly, really. The entire situation was verging on immature. How could she talk about love after a single kiss? Yet, there was more to this circumstance than Rita had ever realised. She had always been attracted to Connie, and had become inexplicably fond of her quirks – even if they involved being overly ruthless at work, with patients and staff, and walking out on heart-stopping kisses. It was apparent that she had fallen in love a long time ago, and the kiss merely sealed a promise to do so forever.

She exited the room, and closed the door quietly behind her. It was still early in the morning, and they had probably caused enough commotion to annoy their temporary neighbours to the point of personal complaints.

Upon seeing the empty corridor, Rita quickly swallowed down the panic threatening to emerge at Connie's disappearance. It was a response that came naturally after years of nursing – to take a few deep breaths before anxiety had the chance to overcome every other emotion. She doubted Connie could get far in this weather, no matter how determined she was by nature. The fact was that they were in Glasgow, it was snowing, and their travel tickets were valid on a single train tomorrow afternoon. The logical approach came to Rita surprisingly quick considering that her head was still spinning slightly from that fervent and heartfelt kiss.

She stepped inside the lift, and pressed the button to take her to the ground floor.

Rita was perceptive by profession, so she knew deep down that, when the kiss started, Connie would run. Her nature did not allow for the forging of relationships, and Rita could understand – to an extent. The moment you start to enjoy someone's company you become reliant on them in some way – to make you laugh; to have an intelligent conversation; to feel loved. In Connie's opinion, reliance was weakness.

To have a relationship with someone, romantic or platonic, was to give them a part of yourself – which, in turn, could be used to hurt you. By refusing emotion, and emotional connections, you refuse to be hurt. The irony was that this unhealthy approach probably contributed to her success as a surgeon.

Rita had heard the gossip of Connie's one-night stand with the Romanian doctor when she was helping Charlie find Louis. She had she, with her own eyes, watched how she had entertained flirtations with Cal and Jacob for months without ever letting them reach too far beyond her cool exterior. Her approach to love was as clinical as her approach in resus.

However, Rita was not interested in a promotion, nor the reputation of sleeping with the ice queen, nor the satisfaction of seducing such an aloof and successful woman – she wanted her, because she _loved_ her, and Connie needed to know the difference.

The lift doors opened. Rita stepped out and waved to attract the attention of the hotel receptionist. Though she was confident in her assumption that Connie could not have gone far, it seemed natural to be a little hasty in her pursuit. She cared too much to be completely passive.

"Did you see a woman in a blue coat go through here?"

The projected her voice, and a note of desperation could clearly be heard. The receptionist sat up in her chair, stifled a yawn, and pointed towards the double doors leading outside. Rita pursed her lips at the vague and indifferent directions, but hurried outside regardless.

The sudden wall of cold took her breath away, and Rita pulled her blazer tighter. Her jacket was lying on the hotel floor where Connie had snaked her hands underneath, and pushed it from Rita's shoulders. When faced with the choice between the two, the jacket did not seem like a priority. Besides, the thought had already caused much needed heat to rise in Rita's face.

The city was quiet. The silence was broken only by the howl of wind which agitated the steady fall of snowflakes in its wake. The white blanket of snow had not yet been disturbed by cars, nor pedestrians – it was too early for the aura of tranquillity to be broken, resulting in quite a picturesque scene. Rita did not consider it much – she was shivering through the cold, briskly walking towards the sparse trees indicating the location of the park. Perhaps Connie would seek solace in the same place she did.

She reached the entrance, and pushed the frosty gate open. There, on a distant bench, a royal blue coat could be seen through the swirling snow. It was, indeed, the same bench that Rita had sat on before, contemplating her attraction to Connie. She smiled gently at the unexpected role reversal.

Rita slowed her pace in order to catch her breath, and focused on the soft crunch of snow beneath her feet in order to calm her nerves. Connie heard her approaching, and looked up with a disapproving glare.

"Nurse Freeman, I have no interest in pursuing a conversation right now" she said with distain.

"That's a shame" Rita flirted, "because I have an interest in pursuing you."

It was a bold statement to make, but she was so used to being nervous around Connie the incessant and loud thumping of her heart did not seem to provoke any inhibitions.

Every time their hands innocently touched when exchanging blood-test results made her heart flutter; every time she got called into her office adrenaline surged through her veins, and not due to fear; every time they were assigned to the same case she struggled to keep her eyes from the clinical lead, confident and beautiful in her element.

Her courage was rewarded by Connie's eyes widening in surprise, followed by a softening of her expression.

"Rita…" she said. The name escaped her lips barely as a breath, and fondness touched Rita's heart. She really was hopelessly infatuated. Connie continued. "This is wholly unprofessional."

Rita took a deep breath, and prepared to spill her heart.

"The fact that you kissed your nursing manager? Yeah, it is. It's also unprofessional that I only agreed to come on this conference call to be close to you, and that I can barely concentrate when I'm doing my job because all I can think about is you. It's unprofessional, but it doesn't make it any less real."

She sat down next to Connie, who looked shockingly vulnerable, and reached out to place a comforting hand on her arm.

"I know you want to control this situation, but you can't. Quite frankly, all I want to do is kiss you again, but I need to know that you want this. Give it a chance, Connie. It might even be the start of something beautiful."

She had intended to end her spontaneous monologue with an encouraging smile, but Connie's hands had already snuck up the front of Rita's blazer in order to pull her forward.

Their lips met once again, cold from the weather, but both smiling – Connie in relief, Rita in satisfaction, both in happiness. Connie deepened the kiss, and the cold weather became insignificant. It was the only answer Rita needed, really. It was happening. They were going to do this.


End file.
